October 16, 2008

Gingerbread Mini-muffins

Jason’s Deli is one of my favorite places to eat. Brandon and I go there at least once a week just to eat their salad bar. But the real draw of this place are their gingerbread muffins. They are complimentary and they are DELICIOUS. In fact, they might possibly have crack in them because they are so addictive. I decided a few weeks ago that I just had to figure out how to make them at home. Four batches later, I think I’ve gotten as close as I can. It’s hard to tell since I can’t do a side-by-side taste test, but these are pretty darn close. Brandon said he thought they tasted exactly the same. I think the original muffins are a bit sweeter, but that’s probably because they have high fructose corn syrup or 8 pounds of sugar or something like that, so I’m willing to sacrifice some sweetness if it will reduce the calorie count (according to my google research the original muffins are 220 calories, which is a lot for something you can eat in one bite).

Of course, the real test was yesterday when Brandon brought a whole batch to his coworkers. They turned out to be a giant hit and were just as addictive as the original muffins are because everyone kept coming back for more. In my book, that’s a success.

The best thing about this recipe is how simple it is, you can whip it up in about 10 minutes. However, in my opinion these gingerbread muffins taste MUCH better if you let them sit for a while. They just aren’t as sweet or ginger-y when they are warm. I usually let mine cool and then put them in a covered container or plastic bag and let them sit overnight. I find that the flavor has intensified by the next day, but I’ve noticed a difference in flavor even after 4 to 6 hours if you don’t want to wait that long.

Gingerbread Mini-muffins

Of course you could make these as normal sized muffins or even a whole loaf, but that’s just not as fun!

Ingredients:

1 cupdark brown sugar

2 1/2 cupsflour

1 1/2 tsp.baking soda

1 tsp.cinnamon

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/2 tsp.salt

1/4 tsp.nutmeg

1egg

1/2 cupmolasses

1 cupbuttermilk*

1/2 cupunsalted butter, melted

*If you don’t have buttermilk (I almost never do), just add 1 tbsp. of white vinegar or lemon juice to a cup of regular milk and let sit out for about 10 minutes.

The Process:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (F). Spray/butter muffin tins.

Combine sugar, flour, soda, salt and spices in a bowl.

In a separate bowl mix the egg, molasses, milk, and butter.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir until just blended.

Add to muffin tins** (about 3/4 full, these muffins don’t rise too much, so you don’t have to worry about them overflowing) and bake for 15 minutes. If making normal sized muffins, it’ll be more like 20 minutes. Muffins are done when a toothpick comes out clean.

**I didn’t want to overfill the mini-muffin tins, but spooning the batter in seemed like it would take forever and be messy, so I made up a make-shift pastry bag by pouring the batter into a gallon sized plastic bag, cutting off a very small corner and squeezing the batter into the tins. It worked perfectly and made it very simple to control how much batter went into each one.

Thanks! My boyfriend says he likes mine better, too. I think the main thing is that they taste better fresh, whereas I can tell the Jason’s muffins get set out for a long time and can start getting stale sometimes.

Shannon said:

I just made this recipe and it was delicious! Thanks!!

I think that next time I make it, I will add 1/2 tsp-1 tsp of ground cloves. I had some muffins from Jason’s Deli left over from a visit yesterday and comparing the two, I think that is the ingredient that differs the two.

Courtney said:

Hi Courtney, no I haven’t tried looking for their corn muffin recipe, but if I remember correctly, those muffins are kind of sweet? I do have a really good recipe for sweet cornbread here. It’s a bit crumbly so I’m not sure how well it would work for mini-muffins, but I’ve made it into regular sized muffins and they were fine. I don’t think that recipe is exactly like Jason’s, but it’s my favorite cornbread recipe.

Tanya Santos said:

Definitely ground ginger. It might be interesting to experiment with using fresh, though. I’ve been using fresh ginger in a lot of my cooking lately, but haven’t thought about using it for baking. Anyway, sorry for the confusion. I’ve updated it to say ground ginger. 🙂

Marie said:

Kathy Jobe said:

I have a very similar gringerbread muffin recipe that I use for mini muffins. Mine adds allspice and cloves in addition to cinnamon. I also use a lemon glaze on the warm muffins which really sets them off.

LEMON GLAZE:
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
5 Tnsp. fresh lemon juice

Mix, heat to warm temp. and pour over hot muffins set on cooling rack with foil or wax paper underneath to catch drips.

conniee said:

Kathy said:

I just made these, and they taste yummy…a great fall treat! I did add 1/2 teaspoon of cloves, and next time I will add a teaspoon. My plan is to make a cream cheese frosting and serving them as a dessert.

Am I the only one who has a really hard time putting things in a plastic bag for putting the batter in the tins? I end up wasting a bunch and making a mess. Pictures make it look so easy and not messy. Any suggestions?

Bea Long said:

I HATE ginger bread but I am addicted to those at Jason’s Deli//Go figure. I won’t even eat ginger cookies or cook a recipe that includes ginger, I always change the recipe, weird huh?? I hope this recipe is what I am wishing for so thank you so much!!

We went to Jason’s this past week, and I admit, I put a couple of the muffins in my purse before I left. I’m addicted to them. So, today, I went on line and typed, “How to make dark, moist, spongy gingerbread muffins” and low and behold, your site added, “like Jason’s Deli” My eyes popped and here you’ve done all the work, and I’m benefiting from it. Thanks for posting your recipe. You’ve made at least one happy camper. Haven’t tried the recipe yet, but I’m going to !